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Opinion Contributor

Don't celebrate President Obama's birthday

Obama even comes with his own symbol, that ubiquitous circular figure that appears to be a white sun emerging from the red stripes of the U.S. flag into a blue sky. His still iconic campaign poster, featuring the word “Hope” below his confident image, seems almost as recognizable these days as Washington on a dollar bill.

But fervid allegiance to a person instead of a principle can lead to the identification of the leader with the state.

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An example of this occurred last September, when the Education Department wanted to turn a laudable effort extolling the values of learning into an Obama rally for tots. Children throughout the nation were to start their school year with a classroom video of Obama talking about the wonders of education.

The original plan included a suggestion for the kids to write a letter to themselves about “what they can do to help the president” and discuss “what the president wants us to do.” After an outcry from Republicans, this plan was changed.

The president and his operatives have every right to try to boost him to enhance his ability to govern and help secure his reelection. But Obama should direct his aides to dial the glorification campaign way back.

Not only is it contrary to American principles of government, it adds to the polarization of an already divided country.

Obama’s tactics are fodder for extremists who charge that he wants to establish some kind of dictatorship. By idolatrizing their leader and igniting the emotional attachment his followers feel for him, Obama’s advisers ratchet up the hatred of his enemies and polarize a nation he claims he wants to unite.

So wish Obama a happy birthday — out loud if you like. Say a prayer for our president and wish him well steering the country during difficult times for him and the nation.

But don’t go to a birthday party for him.

Keith Koffler, who covered the White House as a reporter for CongressDaily and Roll Call, is editor of the blog White House Dossier.

It has been noted that democracy can only succeed when the losing party recognizes the legitimacy of the winning side. The neocons refuse to accept Obama's 2008 victory and in typical neocon fashion try to destabilize our country. These far-righters refuse to work with the president to solve our nation's problems but instead practice disruption and destruction. Their rabid media leaders, who so successfully lied us into war, mobilized shriekers to sabotage town hall meetings designed to debate national problems such as health care. They even denied the legitimacy of our election by refusing to allow school children to hear a motivational speech by President Obama. They urged parents to keep children home from school so that they would not be exposed to a speech whose main theme is the importance of staying in school. Thus they strive to guarantee that their children are as ignorant, uneducated, and narrow-minded as they are. However, their underlying goal is destabilization, a defeat of democracy.

The neocons pretend to be about spreading democracy whereas they actually are about destabilization. In his book Where the Right Went Wrong, Patrick J. Buchanan answers the question: "Who are they, the neoconservatives?" He quotes a Wall Street Journal article by Max Boot in which Boot states that support for Israel is a "key tenet of neoconservatism" and that Commentary, the American Jewish Congress magazine, is the "neocon bible." Buchanan points out that Israel Lobby neocon Michael Ledeen wrote in his book The War Against the Terror Masters: "First and foremost, we must bring down the terror regimes, beginning with the big three: Iran, Iraq, and Syria." "Stability is an unworthy American mission, and a misleading concept to boot. We do not want stability in Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and even Saudi Arabia; we want things to change. The real issue is not whether, but how to destabilize." Of course, destabilizing the enemies of Israeli expansionism has been a longtime Israeli strategy. Thus, led by the neocon warmongers, we destabilized Iraq and Afghanistan. Currently, Obama is particularly hated by these neocons as he has taken a strong stand against the expanding Israeli settlements and is pushing for Middle East peace.

I cant help but winder how loud the Right would be screaming about an article making the case to not celebrate GWB's (or any other Republican President) birthday. They would have likely called that author a Communist, or worse!

Happy Birthday President Obama. Thank you for your service to our country at a time when George Bush and the republicans almost did us in.

The republcian agenda since day one has been for Obama to fail. They even said it in the beginning although have stopped saying it lately because of how unAmerican it sounds. Organizing for America will do what Move On did in 2008, ie, get democrats to vote on election day.

This writer of this piece, Keith Koffler, could not be more of a sore loser if he tried.

The fact is that Michelle is on a lavish vacation in Spain, leaving Obama to spend his birthday with NONE of his family there! She knew when this vacation was scheduled that she would not be here for his birthday! Maybe the rumors are true about their mariage being in trouble!

Yes.....Yes, I am one of the ones we've been waiting for. Maybe you aren't, but I am.....

What you cant seem to grasp is that the "we" Obama was referring to in the campaign, was US, the American people. We are the ones who must tackle and solve the tough problems of today, which is what the President has done and is doing every day. Righties try to twist his words so that "we" "REALLY" means "I", which of course it doesn't. If he had meant I he would have said "I", not we. He meant the American people. Mock Americans all you want if that floats yer boat, I guess.

Go ahead and rehash the 08 election again with failed worn out and miscontrued talking points. They didnt work out so well for ya last time. Maybe this time you'll have better luck with those lies. I say go for it. I'm ready to see them fail again. Maybe you should try bringing up Rev. Wright again. That one was a real winner for ya too!

The cult of personality which is arising around Obama should frighten anyone with a knowledge of history and love of freedom.

Along with resorting to the rationale "For the Good of the People" whenever an action is taken without legal justification, such as the illegal Chrysler bailout which violated the rights of its bondholders, or to advocate for powers disallowed by the Constitution, such as the Health care mandate, the glorification of "the Leader" is another step in the direction of government by personal fiat as opposed to the structure instituted in the Constitution which limits government clearly and exactly to expressly prevent the kind of demagoguery which we are currently experiencing.

Imagine if Conservatives had tried to turn Bush's birthday into a holiday! The howling from the Left about fascism would have been overwhelming.

And yet just such a totalitarian system is now rearing it's ugly head. H.G.Well's who advocated Liberal fascism was ahead of his time. Unfortunately he was not ahead of ours.

I don't give a rat's ***$ about "dividing the country" ...I'm going to celebrate the President's Birthday, go to a BO Party, contribute and sign his Birthday card. The Democrats have been bending over backwards to appease the neocons and all they have received is hatred, lies and deception. NEWS FLASH...THE COUNTRY IS DIVIDED!!!!. and no amount of "going along to get along" is going to help. Republicans try to tear down, de-legitimize, destroy and derail everything this President says or does. Personally I'm DONE with trying to meet any conservative half way.

I don't give a rat's ***$ about "dividing the country" ...I'm going to celebrate the President's Birthday, go to a BO Party, contribute and sign his Birthday card. The Democrats have been bending over backwards to appease the neocons and all they have received is hatred, lies and deception. NEWS FLASH...THE COUNTRY IS DIVIDED!!!!. and no amount of "going along to get along" is going to help. Republicans try to tear down, de-legitimize, destroy and derail everything this President says or does. Personally I'm DONE with trying to meet any conservative half way.

The cult of personality which is arising around Obama should frighten anyone with a knowledge of history and love of freedom.

Along with resorting to the rationale "For the Good of the People" whenever an action is taken without legal justification, such as the illegal Chrysler bailout which violated the rights of its bondholders, or to advocate for powers disallowed by the Constitution, such as the Health care mandate, the glorification of "the Leader" is another step in the direction of government by personal fiat as opposed to the structure instituted in the Constitution which limits government clearly and exactly to expressly prevent the kind of demagoguery which we are currently experiencing.

Imagine if Conservatives had tried to turn Bush's birthday into a holiday! The howling from the Left about fascism would have been overwhelming.

And yet just such a totalitarian system is now rearing it's ugly head. H.G.Well's who advocated Liberal fascism was ahead of his time. Unfortunately he was not ahead of ours.

I don't give a rat's ***$ about "dividing the country" ...I'm going to celebrate the President's Birthday, go to a BO Party, contribute and sign his Birthday card. The Democrats have been bending over backwards to appease the neocons and all they have received is hatred, lies and deception. NEWS FLASH...THE COUNTRY IS DIVIDED!!!!. and no amount of "going along to get along" is going to help. Republicans try to tear down, de-legitimize, destroy and derail everything this President says or does. Personally I'm DONE with trying to meet any conservative half way.

In answer to reply #6- When was GWB's birthday celebrated by conservatives??

I voted for him twice and don't even know when his birthday is.

The difference between Conservatives and Progressives is clear- we consider Politicians necessary evils who have a limited job to do, and we expect them to abide by the restrictions imposed by our Constitutional freedoms. Liberals look for Messiahs who will save the human race with their godlike powers.

In answer to reply #6- When was GWB's birthday celebrated by conservatives??

I voted for him twice and don't even know when his birthday is.

The difference between Conservatives and Progressives is clear- we consider Politicians necessary evils who have a limited job to do, and we expect them to abide by the restrictions imposed by our Constitutional freedoms. Liberals look for Messiahs who will save the human race with their godlike powers.

Imagine if Conservatives had tried to turn Bush's birthday into a holiday!

WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? NO ONE, except for you I guess, is saying anything REMOTELY like that. What an idiotic statement. Those one the Right's hatred for Obama seems to have no end. Pathetic. What lies will they come up with next? A holiday for his birthday. WHERE DO YOU FOLKS COME UP WITH THIS STUFF???